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Saturday, 20 March 2010

That’s Life, But Not As We Know It – 3

The war of words over who may or may not be standing in the constituency of Luton South may have started off as an extension of the row between the Maily Telegraph and Tory MP Nadine Dorries, but thanks to the generosity of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre, former That’s Life presenter Esther Rantzen has been able to wade into the dispute via her column in the Daily Mail.

And La Rantzen kicks off with another revelation concerning Stephen Rhodes (né Tommy Keenan): she had met Rhodes two weeks ago, at his request, and he had inferred that he would be standing as an Independent in neighbouring Luton North. In the intervening period, Rhodes somehow either lost his bearings, or decided against the united Independent approach.

Moreover, Rantzen asserts that there is at least a whispering campaign in Luton South suggesting that she may withdraw from the contest, or even that she has already withdrawn. Who may be behind this is unclear, but she does note that, when Rhodes contacted the Maily Telegraph about Nadine Dorries – the episode that, it seems, was intended to stop the paper investigating her – he taped the conversation and this recording may have found its way to Dorries’ lawyer.

Unless she has changed her legal representative recently, Dorries’ lawyer is none other than Young Britons’ Foundation (YBF) CEO, and senior partner of Griffin Law, Donal Blaney. La Rantzen might usefully ask herself whether Rhodes was wired when the two of them met the other week, and what she may have let slip during the conversation.